Of Monsters and Mayhem
by DaPokemonMadster
Summary: A pokespe AU! For most people, Radio Tower is just that. A tower built for the radio. But for Crystal, member of the Monster Protection Department of the Magical Committee of Goldenrod, it's much more. However, things go awry when Gold, member-in-training of Crystal's department, accidentally breaks something important and sets monsters loose in the city.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey, hi, hello. So I came up with this AU idea with a pal a month or so ago, and then they started an AU fanfic contest on their blog (incorrect-pokespe-quotes on tumblr), so I decided to write this up for fun and enter! I'm having tons of fun with it and have a lot of ideas for it, so with any luck, I should have more chapters coming! Hope you enjoy!**

Crystal knew things weren't going her way the moment her best friend screwed her over, she became the babysitter for all of nineteen people, and became the sole barrier between peace and anarchy for the city of Goldenrod. It was… an undesirable situation, to say the least. And it had all begun with the guy in front of her, sitting on the couch with a guilty expression and fidgety hands.

"Alright Gold, let me get this straight," She began, pacing around her desk and glancing at him over the top of her glasses. She set her clipboard down on the desk sharply, and Gold gulped.

"You, a member of the department of monster protection, _accidentally_ managed to bust the program? It's a giant machine, how does that even work?"

"Hey, hey. It's not as bad as you make it sound," Gold butted in, raising his hands in defense. "I'm not a _member_. I'm a member in training."

"That makes it worse."

"Does it?"

"Okay, you know what? That's really not the problem here. I don't care how your mediocre, in-training amulet somehow had enough power to damage the cloaking-"

"You totally care." Gold cut her off.

"Shut up for a minute!" Crystal took a deep breath and set her glasses down, regaining her composure, "As I was saying, the _bigger_ problem is that you literally busted the cloaking machine-"

"Crystal, if you're gonna talk to me about what I did in a professional setting, you should use the proper names for everything." Gold interrupted, a disgusting smirk on his face. Crystal's grip tightened on the edge of the desk.

"The bigger problem," She hissed, "is that you busted the _glamorizer_ \- stop laughing Gold or so help me I will kick you out of that window - and now every monster in the city has lost their cover. Do you even know what this means?"

"Thaaaat you're gonna have to work overtime."

"More like you've jeopardized the safety of innocent civilians, but y'know, that too," Crystal answered wearily, slumping into her chair and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Also don't think for a second that I'll be the only one working overtime. You got us into this mess, you'll be helping us out of it."

"That suuuuuucks. How long did you say this is gonna take?" Gold sighed, sticking a pinky up his nose.

"I didn't. But we'll find out the extent of the damage soon enough." Crystal replied, anxiously twisting the bracelet on her wrist. As if on cue, the gem on her bracelet flashed twice.

"Speak of the devil… seems they're finished inspecting the-" she paused at the look on Gold's face, and sighed. " _Glamorizer_. C'mon, you're coming with me."

"What, so they can chew me out again? Nah, I'd rather stay here." Gold whined.

"And I'm not giving you a choice." Crystal said threateningly, walking over and grabbing for his hoodies strings. He ducked under her hand and stood up, grumbling.

"Fine, fine. I'm coming."

The two of them walked down the hall in an uncomfortable silence. It was a surprisingly narrow walkway, considering it was in the upper reaches of one of the largest buildings in all of Goldenrod. Most non-magical folk simply knew it as Radio Tower, but contrary to the name, the tower had nothing to do with the radio at all. Most folks had never seen the interior of the building, in fact, only those that worked there could enter. And that was a very small amount of people. The two walked past tall, glass windows that overlooked the city. It was a terribly gloomy evening, and the tiny lights flickering from houses were barely discernable under the thick sheet of rain that smattered against the side of Radio Tower. Crystal looked out at the gray wall of clouds and twisted her bracelet again. Despite her denial, her curious mind couldn't help but mull the incident over. She was baffled as to how Gold's tiny, training ring had enough power to fry the most important, not to mention most protected, machine in the entire tower. It was doubtful that even she, with her powerful Z-bracelet, would've been able to put a dent in the machine under normal circumstances. Not to mention that Gold could still barely use magic, and was nowhere near to mastering his ring. But what was worse was that was, as his overseer and assistant head of the department, Crystal would be held responsible for the slipup.

Reaching the end of the hallway, Gold and Crystal pulled up short at a heavy, steel door. Crystal held her left wrist up to a sensor where a door handle would normally be, and the gem on her bracelet flashed. With a pneumatic hiss, the door slid open. The two of them walked into a spacious elevator, and Crystal turned on her heel to punch a code into the keypad to the right of the door. With a sigh, she stepped back, impatiently tapping her foot as the elevator began its ascent. Gold leaned against the back wall, tapping out a rhythm on the chrome with his finger nails. They waited in awkward silence as the neon floor count slowly rose.

With a small _ding_ , the doors slid open, and the two walked into an enormous, circular room. It was situated at the top of Radio Tower, right below the spire that supposedly transmitted radio waves. Well, it _did_ do that, but it had another function, too.

Crystal stared in awe at the giant wonder of technology in front of her. It never failed to amaze her, with the sheer size and complexity, the cloaking device was a sight to behold. It took up nearly the entire room; a mountain of shining pipes, panels and blinking lights that reached all the way to the ceiling, spitting steam and letting out various whistles and clicking noises. A shame that it had to have such a stupid name.

"Ah, there you are!" Somebody said, and Gold and Crystal whipped around to see a man rising from a seat at his desk. He looked harried and worn, his lab coat disheveled and glasses slipping down his nose. Even his curious swoop of blue hair looked limp.

"Head scientist Colress," Crystal nodded. "What's the news?"

"Nothing good, I'm afraid," Colress sighed. "As we know, the Glamorizer is a machine based around two concepts. Science, and magic. It is the pride and joy of the monster protection department, and keeps normal humans from seeing and recognizing monstrous behaviors. In fact, most humans, with the exception of very open-minded ones, have no idea that monsters exist. But the most useful function, is that it keeps monsters from realizing that they themselves _are_ monsters. The Glamorizer completely blocks monstrous instincts and behaviors, allowing our beastly little friends to live their lives like any normal human. This makes it much easier to protect them, and keep chaos from breaking loose." Crystal nodded. Gold looked confused.

"Right. Well, there wouldn't be much of a problem if the damage had been to the mechanical parts of the Glamorizer… that I could fix in a heartbeat. The 'science' bit is my specialty, after all. But unfortunately, the damage seems to be more internal. More… magical, if you will."

"Just our luck…" Crystal groaned, " _How_ the _hell_ did you manage this, Gold?"

"Hey man, you guys are the smart ones. You tell me." Gold shrugged, and Colress cracked a smile.

"Yes, well, I would if I could. But I truly am stumped on how your ring managed this." He said, running a hand through his swoop.

"How long do you think it'll be before you can fix it?" Crystal asked tentatively. "Or do I even want to know?"

"According to my calculations… well, at the bare minimum it'll take me at least a month." Colress sighed, adjusting his glasses.

"A _month_!? The monsters of Goldenrod will be without protection for an entire month!?" Crystal squawked.

"At least," Colress nodded grimly, "And I'm afraid that's not the whole of it."

"Oh no… well, let's hear it." Crystal said in a muffled tone, burying her head in Gold's shoulder.

"As you know, we have profiles of every known monster in the city. They're top secret and kept completely private, of course, but they contain information on the species, names, and addresses of each monster. Well… it seems… somehow… all of those profiles were completely erased from the system. I'm running a recovery program now, but currently we aren't in possession of that information." Colress said helplessly.

"What am I supposed to do with that?" Crystal moaned. "Not only do we now have a city's worth of monsters on our hands, but we don't even know who they are!?"

"Yes, it is quite the problem." Colress sighed.

"Indeed, it is," A new voice said, and the three of them turned to see a woman with an impressive beehive hairdo clicking towards them in heels. Crystal had a theory that working with magic had a correlation to gravity-defying hair.

"Professor Juniper!" She said, standing up straight.

"Hello, Crystal. Colress." She said, cooly. Gold looked offended she hadn't mentioned him. "This is quite a mess, isn't it?"

"It is, Professor. I trust you read the full report I sent you?" Colress asked, and Juniper nodded.

"I did," She turned to look at Crystal, "And I understand that the trainee you were overseeing is responsible?"

"I... yes, professor." Crystal answered.

"Well, while I understand that accidents happen, this is a very serious issue and must be resolved immediately. We no longer have access to our files, but the monsters out there will still need to be found, calmed, and protected. They pose a danger to both the human civilians, and themselves. So, Crystal and Gold, as the ones responsible, I will be assigning you two the duty of finding the monsters in the city, documenting them, and keeping them safe." Juniper said, matter-of-factly. Crystal felt her stomach plummet. It was a daunting job, and Juniper knew it.

"Luckily," Colress butted in, "There's only about one monster in every four hundred people. That cuts down the number significantly. There should be no more than twenty monsters, according to those odds. Though, that still leaves you the task of _finding_ those people in a city of roughly eight thousand…"

"Inspiring, Colress," Juniper said in a very flat tone. "Under normal circumstances, I would confiscate both of your artifacts for this incident. But something tells me you're going to need magic for this job. Please start right away. This is a matter of the utmost urgency. And, as a precaution in case dear Colress here is unable to recover the files, I'm giving this to you." Juniper handed Crystal a small red device.

"It looks like a DS." Gold whispered.

"It's an electronic encyclopedia of sorts. It contains a large wealth of information on monsters. If you get close enough to a monster, it should automatically tell you what kind of monster it is. All you have to do is enter the name of the person in question, and it will create a new file. I call it the Monsterdex. It's out backup, so be very careful with it." Juniper said, tapping the device that Crystal was clutching.

"I-I will, professor." Crystal gulped.

"I wish you both the best of luck," Juniper turned back towards the elevator once more. "Oh, and don't worry. You _will_ be getting paid overtime."

"Oh, joy. Paid overtime." Gold said sarcastically. "That makes it all worth it."

"Well, you two best be going. Good luck." Colress gave them a sympathetic smile. Crystal tried to return it, and then walked briskly back to the elevator, dragging Gold along with her.

"Where are we going now?" Gold asked.

"We're stopping by my office to grab some supplies, and then we're heading out." Crystal answered.

"Wait, seriously? We're starting now!? It's almost eight!" Gold yelped, almost jogging to keep up with Crystal as she stalked down the hallway.

"Well, too bad. Your video games and cartoons will have to wait." Crystal snapped.

"Hey, chill out. I'm not talking about that, I mean we need to sleep, y'know? You're already fried from today, and now we might be out there all night! Also, the cartoons are all Silver, not me." Gold said, raising his hands in defense.

"Sleep is for the weak." Crystal replied, turning into her office and snatching up a half-drunk cup of coffee. She downed it in one go, and opened the mini fridge in the corner of the office. She pulled out an enormous bottle of Mountain Dew and began drinking it, then tossed a second one to Gold.

"We'll be up all night if we have to." Crystal said, giving him a slightly manic, definitely overcaffeinated stare. Gold looked at her in genuine fear. If he had learned anything from working in her department, it was to never underestimate the power or workaholics on caffeine. Crystal slung a backpack onto her desk, quickly shoved into it the Monsterdex, a roll of duct tape, a regular, non-magical cellphone, and a six pack of unidentifiable energy drinks. Gold was concerned by the amount of neon on the drink cans.

"So uh… what's the duct tape for?" He asked, tentatively.

"Gold, there's _always_ a use for duct tape." Crystal said, and with that, she swept out of the office. Gold followed, grabbing Crystal's umbrella on the way out. He followed her at a distance, sneakers squeaking along the white tiled floors. Then all but sprinted down the stairs trying to keep up with Crystal. As she neared the sliding front doors, he grabbed her shoulder. Opening the umbrella, he let her go and the two of them walked outside together.

It was only drizzling, leaving a wet, freshness to the air, and the smell of grass. The air still crackled with distant thunder, but the thick bank of black clouds had started to recede. It was dark, everything seemed to be a mix of inky blues and grays. The temperature had dropped as well, and Gold was suddenly very grateful for his red hoodie as their breath fogged out in front of them. They walked up to the edge of the road, standing on the curb and looking down the street.

"I can't believe we're going out in this weather to hunt down monsters. This seems like a really poor plan." Gold grumbled.

"Job's a jo- uh oh. That might be a problem." Crystal murmured.

"What?" Gold said, following Crystal's gaze into the sky. The fog of clouds was thinning fast, leaving tiny wisps scudding away from the golden face of a very bright, concerningly round moon.

"Please tell me that's not a full moon. That is _not_ a full moon. Was there supposed to be a full moon tonight? What's the date? Do we have werewolves in this city!?" Crystal said in a rush, fishing in her bag for the phone. She froze at the sound of faint beeping. With trembling fingers she pulled out the Monsterdex, and the beeping got stronger. A small, red light was flashing on the exterior.

"Gold. Gold where is it? Where's the monster?" She hissed, looking up and down the street for any sign of movement.

"Uh, Crystal?" Gold stammered, his voice at a much higher pitch than normal.

"What? Do you see it!?" She said frantically.

"No, uh, I think we have a slightly bigger problem…" He replied, sounding very un-Goldlike. Crystal whirled around, and met Gold's wide, terrified eyes. Then she realized that there was fur sprouting on his face and hands, and his head seemed to be getting longer as he doubled over…

"Oh." She said.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hey, all! Oof, it's been a hot minute since I posted chapter one of this fic. Uhhhh I'm on break now so hopefully I'll be more motivated and active on here cuz I really am excited to work on this fic in particular! Anyhoo, enjoy, see ya'll later (soon, I hope), and leave a review to let me know whatcha think!**

* * *

Crystal raced down the dimly lit sidewalk, heart slamming against her ribcage and breath clawing at her throat. She skidded on the pavement, still slick from the rain, and made a sharp turn. She tripped on a crack, caught herself on a mailbox, and continued running, chasing after the patter of feet from something large blundering down the road, and the distressed howls that accompanied it. She was still trying to wrap her mind around what had happened, not quite believing that it was real. One minute, Gold had been standing in front of her, the next, he'd been doubled over with pain and then, there'd been a split second when she'd caught sight of red fur and slavering jaws before… _whatever-it-was_ bolted. As Crystal ran past, she noticed the bushes and beds of flowers lining the road had been trampled into the dirt, and gulped.

"Dammit, Gold, I can't _believe_ this," She fumed to herself. She rounded yet another corner and realized they were heading towards a populous downtown square, full of street vendors and tourist traps selling dinky souvenirs. She sped up, feeling her legs burn. The more people saw him, the worse the situation would get. Altering memory was, unfortunately, not a form of magic in her inventory. Her path was suddenly illuminated with an increased number of streetlamps, pooling an ugly, yellow light on the cracked pavement, and Crystal stumbled to a slower gait as she neared the square, not wanting to draw much attention to herself, sweaty and disheveled as she was. Though, if Gold was anywhere in sight, she doubted she'd be considered a spectacle. She cast her eyes around warily. There was no trace of red fur, or disturbance. Music and raucous laughter were blaring from a group of people dancing outside a bar, a few couples and tourists casually made their way around, staring in windows and never stopping to buy, and good smells and chatter came from a mess of food trucks parked in a jumble, taking up more room than necessary. Crystal cautiously made her way deeper, on high alert for any change in the atmosphere. She found it when screams erupted near the food vendors. She twisted her bracelet and rushed over, not quite knowing what to prepare for.

She wasn't ready for what she found. The beast was big. Not as big as her imagination may have suggested, but still formidable. The street lights shone on dark red fur, long and lanky limbs that ended in sharp, black claws, glowing, red eyes, and a curiously large tuft of white fur that ran along its back and came over the top of its head like some strange mohawk. It stood at least six feet tall on its hind legs, and currently it was sitting, quite content, feasting upon hotdogs in the wreckage of a cart.

"... Are you kidding me." Crystal said, in a flat tone. The beast - Gold, she supposed - lifted his head and wagged his stumpy tail at the sight of her. She heaved a long sigh. Gold went back to eating hotdogs.

"Okay. No, nope, nuh-uh. We can't stay here. Do you realize how many people have already seen you?" Crystal asked. Gold gave yet another innocent wag. "The answer is too many." She sighed again and raised her left hand. Her bracelet glinted in the dim light. Closing her eyes, Crys focused her concentration and tapped into her reserve of magic. A pulse of cool air emitted from the bracelet, and the lights in the square winked out like candles in a stiff breeze. Turning her attention back to Gold, Crystal flicked her wrist and the gem in her bracelet began to glow, giving her barely enough light to make out his silhouette. She approached him cautiously, hoping he was as harmless as he seemed to be. Gently, she reached out and stroked him with the tips of her fingers. He snuffled at her hand. Without making any sudden movements, she flattened her palm on his shoulder blade. His red eyes, glowing in the darkness, flitted upwards to meet hers, and for a second she felt her heart freeze in fear. Then he simply cocked his head in confusion.

"I think I might actually prefer you in this form." She grumbled, running her hand through his thick tuft of white fur. It was incredibly soft. He looked away from her, turning his attention back towards the hotdogs.

"Oh no you don't," Crys said, grabbing one of his paws and throwing his arm around her shoulders. "You're coming with me, buddy." He whined pitifully as she dragged him away from the mess of splattered food.

"Stop it, you don't want to eat more of that. Do you know what hotdogs are made of?" She said. Rhetorical question, but it seemed to do the trick. Gold whined again, but stopped resisting as she pulled him away from the corner of street vendors. _Now what?_ Crystal thought to herself. She needed somewhere to hide Gold until he turned back. _If_ he turned back. People were already starting to gather, standing at the edge of the patch of shadow, murmuring about the lights. Crystal knew it wouldn't be long before the braver of their numbers began to blindly plunge towards her.

"Alright, uhhhh, well, I hope your roommate's not in." She whispered to Gold, pulling him away from the people in the square and into a back alley. Gold licked her cheek.

"You're no help at all." She grumbled.

* * *

Gold's apartment was a cheap, old, ten story on the shadier side of town. It was stuck so close between a line of other identical buildings, it felt like there was no room to breathe. Crystal hated walking down this street, especially at night. Not because of the group of people with cigarettes in their mouths and beers clutched in their hands giving her funny stares from across the road, but because she felt trapped. The stars were so far above, and the towering apartments so tall, she always felt like she was walking at the bottom of a ravine. A disgusting, smelly ravine with piss in the street, but that was beside the point. Gold's building was in shambles, practically falling apart, but as he had been out of a job before getting picked up by the Magical Committee, and god knows what his roommate, Silver, did for a living, it'd been all the two of them could afford.

Besides, Gold liked living on the shady side of town; there was a certain feeling to it that he seemed to revel in. It was 'alive' and 'raw' and 'exciting,' he said, as though catcalling men, pickpockets and societal scum could be called _exciting_.

Crystal led Gold to the apartment, straining to pull open the door to the lobby, stuck as it was in a swollen door frame. Gold watched her curiously, then seemed to tire of watching her efforts and promptly turned to pee on a fire hydrant. Crystal glared at him. She shoved her shoulder into the door and it finally swung open. Panting, she reached out to take Gold's paw and lead him inside. Unfortunately, the frame seemed a bit too small for the massive werewolf. It took a solid 45 seconds of tugging to pull his furry body through the door and into the hallway.

Crystal sighed as she shut the door behind her and lead Gold upstairs to the apartment. This was where things could get a little tricky.

"Hey, anyone home?" she called, knocking on the door. No answer. She knocked a little louder. Still, nothing.

"Alright, lucky us… he's either out or asleep." She muttered. Not even bothering with the keys, she tapped the door handle with her left hand, bracelet letting out a flash. The door swung open with ease, and Gold whined as the smell of old sweat and pizza rose up to meet them.

"You've got no right to complain, this is your doing." Crystal said, pulling her shirt up over her nose and forging ahead. Gold pawed at his nose, looking miserable, as Crystal led him inside. The interior was clearly divided. Half of the tiny living room was littered with discarded clothing items, empty take out boxes, and crumpled papers covered with an illegible scrawl. The other half had an air of sloppy neatness, everything was in its place, but it didn't feel like there was quite enough space for everything to fit comfortably. Incredibly, Crystal knew the neat half was Gold's side. Gold jumped up onto the couch, padding around in a circle before flopping down with a tiny, content noise in the back of his throat. Crystal sighed and walked into the cramped kitchen. The apartment itself was very small. Two bedrooms, a bathroom that was more akin to a closet, a living room with a couch, tv, and Silver's desk and computer tucked in the corner and the kitchen, which comprised of a sink, a mini fridge, a microwave, and a water heater. Crystal often wondered how two people could live in such close proximity, especially when 'friends' was a gross overstatement in describing their relationship.

Crystal rummaged around a cabinet and was pleasantly surprised to find a box of tea. Too tired to even care what kind it was, she grabbed a mug (making doubly sure that it was clean), plopped a tea bag in it and started boiling water. As she waited for the water to heat she walked back into the living room. Gold had fallen asleep curled in a ball, the tip of his tail over his nose, fur fluttering every time he breathed. He really was just like a big puppy.

The water in the kitchen began to bubble, and Crystal returned in time to see a funnel of white steam escape the water heater before it automatically switched off. She poured a generous amount into her mug and added a pinch of sugar from the near-empty sugar pot on the table. She re-entered the living room once more with her mug clutched cozily between her hands. Pulling over Silver's desk chair, she took a seat facing Gold, and gingerly blew on the steaming surface of her tea. Crystal didn't feel like she should sleep. At least, not until she saw Gold change back, as she assumed (and desperately hoped) he would after the moon went down. She was fairly certain he was a werewolf… there didn't seem to be any other explanation. In fact… she hastily set her tea down on the floor and whipped off her backpack, rummaging around in it until she found what she was looking for. The Monsterdex was wedged between two cans of energy drinks from where she'd tossed it after Gold had bolted away from her, and she quickly checked it for any scratches or marks. Juniper would've had her skin if she damaged such a valuable piece of technology. Opening the dex she pointed it in Gold's direction curiously. The screen flashed and words immediately came up on the screen.

 **WEREWOLF. A monster that only appears on the night of a full moon.**

 **A werewolf can be extremely dangerous when cornered and attacks with claws and teeth.**

 **The bite of a werewolf can infect others. Proceed with caution.**

A more detailed description lay beneath, but Crystal's eyes were too heavy with exhaustion to make it any further. She blinked as a window popped up over the entry.

 **PLEASE ENTER NAME OF SPECIMEN:**

Crystal frowned at the word 'specimen' then typed in Gold's name. The dex informed her that a new file had been created, before she snapped it shut and stored it in her pack. She slumped backwards in her chair. The need for sleep was coming on strong, but she was determined not to succumb. She could fight it, she could-

Before she knew it, Crystal was snoring.

* * *

She woke up to a stiff neck and cramped back. She groaned, sitting back upright and stretching. Sleeping in a chair was never a good plan. Foggily, she wiped at her eyes and combed her fingers through her twintails, in a useless attempt to make them appear less frazzled. Crystal moved her foot and it clinked against the cup of tea lying at her feet, still half full. She blearily glanced at the couch. It was vacant. A small indent in the cushions was the only indication that a werewolf had been curled up there mere hours before.

Panicked, Crystal shot to her feet, rapidly blinking the sleep away as she tried to find Gold. Whipping her head around, she found no trace of him in the living room. She flew to the kitchen, and, finding it empty, reared back around and shot across the living room to the door of Gold's room. She flung it open so hard it slammed into the wall. Gold, who was standing in the middle of the room, back in his human form and wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, screamed and nearly jumped into the ceiling.

"Crys!" He yelped. "A little privacy!?"

"Oh. Sorry," Crystal said, shutting the door as quickly as she'd opened it. She sighed with relief. "What happened to your clothes?"

"Well I just took a shower, and I wasn't planning on anyone barging into my room," Gold replied, the scowl in his voice clear. "Aside from that I'm glad I woke up before you, since I found myself on the couch buck naked. What the hell happened?"

"Huh. Interesting. Do you remember anything about your transformation?" Crystal said, slowly, testing the waters.

"Transformation? I… wait. Oh my god. _Wait_." Crys heard some shuffling before Gold opened the door, now dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, and stared at her with terrified eyes.

"Crys am I one of them? One of the monsters?" He said softly. Crys took a step back, contemplating how to tell someone that they turned into a slobbering, fluffy monster during a full moon. "Did I… hurt anybody?"

"No! No, nobody got hurt. In fact, not _too_ many people even saw you! It's alright. I mean, you're a werewolf, but aside from that everything's okay." She reassured him.

"I'm a werewolf?!" Gold yelped.

"Well, yes, but honestly that means we only have to worry about you during the full moon! I think. And you're not even scary. You're pretty big, but also fluffy? And sweeter than normal. Honestly I might like you more as a werewolf than I do as a human."

"Rude," He said, but smiled at the light teasing. Then his face fell. "I'm sorry, Crys. None of this would have happened if I had just listened to you, and hadn't been screwing around. This _sucks_ and I'm just- I'm sorry I landed you in this situation."

"Hey," Crys said, and pulled him in for a big hug. "Thanks for apologizing. But don't take all the blame, Juniper was right when she said I should've been keeping a closer eye on you. It's partially my responsibility that this happened at all. But I mean, what's done is done and I'd rather get this job finished so we don't have to think about it ever again. So, uh, let's just call it square and sort this mess out?"

"Deal," Gold grinned, pulling away from the hug to give her a firm handshake.

"Speaking of mess," Crystal glanced over to Silver's side of the living room. "I haven't seen hide nor hair of your roommate."

"Silver? My guess is he's asleep." Gold said, scratching his head.

"What does he do for a living anyway?" Crystal wondered aloud. Gold's face split with a wicked grin.

"Would you believe me if I told you he gets commissioned to write Proteam Omega fanfiction?"

"No way."

"Yes way."

"Alright, yeah, I absolutely believe that. But also, seriously?" Crystal stifled a giggle. She barely knew the guy, but she would never let Silver live this down.

"Don't tell him I told you, he'll murder me," Gold cackled, hardly looking sorry he'd tattled. "Anyways, it's almost noon and high time the guy got out of bed."

"Almost noon?" Crystal yelped, glancing around for a clock. "We can't waste anymore time! Wake him up and then we've got to go!" Striding over to the couch, Gold picked up one of the cushions (the thing was hard as a rock and Crys was _positive_ he had pulled it out of Radio Tower's dumpster) and chucked it as hard as he could at the door to Silver's room. It connected with a loud thunk, and dropped to the floor. No other sounds followed it.

"Oh, weird. Now's usually when he comes out and tries to murder me with a shoe." Gold said. Crystal cautiously walked up to the door, and knocked.

"Silver? Are you in there? Sorry about the noise, we just want to make sure you're awake." She called through the keyhole.

"Yeah, dude! The new episode for your dumb show's supposed to start in like, six minutes! You don't want to miss that!" Gold hollered. There was no response.

"Um. Hm. Is he normally such a heavy sleeper?" Crys asked, turning to Gold, who shrugged.

"Depends. Sometimes the only way I can get him up is with an airhorn. Then again, once he was napping and threw a fit about me knocking over a cup from the other end of the apartment."

"Well, to be fair, you essentially live in a cupboard.  
"You make a good point," Gold conceded defeat before giving the door a firm tap with his fist. "Silv! C'mon buddy, time to wake up!"

"Okay. We should open this door and check on him." Crystal said decisively.

"I'm sure he just stayed out with a friend or something. Maybe he's with his sister, what's her name, Blue." Gold shrugged, but gripped the door handle anyway.

"Sure. Or maybe he was eaten by one of the, oh, nineteen or so monsters running around?"

"Oh, I totally forgot that was an issue for a sec," Gold said, eyes widening. "SILVER, WE'RE COMING IN!" He yelled before twisting the handle and ramming his shoulder into the door. It flung open easily and he was sent sprawling into a heap of unwashed clothes.

" _Ew_." He said. Crystal tapped him on the shoulder and he sat up, taking in the room around him. The sheets and curtains had been shredded, Silver's vintage collectible Proteam Omega cards scattered, and pillow feathers and glass lay over everything like a thin film of snow. The window was busted wide open, and chilled air was whistling over the pointed shards of glass remaining embedded in the frame.

"Well that's not good." Gold said.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Ah. Didn't mean to leave this story in the lurch, I _do_ still really enjoy writing for it, but it's kind of like my unwind fic haha. I sorta slap some words in the doc when I'm feelin like Monsters or Spe. **

* * *

All magic aside, Gold was struck speechless at the fact that Crystal had a car. It was the most shocking revelation in the past few days, and that was saying something. He decided there was no possible way that Crystal could _have_ a driver's license (he would've noticed if she'd gotten one, he argued, to which Crystal retorted that he was about as observant as a blind frog, to which Gold conceded but with the exception that he could be observant when it came to game corners and hot people, and Crys was neither, which Crystal hit him for and he took back his previous statement and decided that she was hot but not his type and also a lesbian so it wouldn't matter anyway, and she seemed more than fine with that).

But there she was, sitting at the wheel, and there he was, banished to the backseat with Crystal's stupid backpack claiming shotgun.

Gold rolled down the window of the little Mini Cooper and stuck his head out, narrowing his eyes against the wind and scanning the side of the road for any sign of his missing roommate. They had already searched the city, driving up and down every street and alleyway twice at least. Now they were moving away from Goldenrod and out towards the rural farmlands. Crys had found a few bloodied pawprints heading that way and had swung her car around to follow them. Gold had thought there was something unnerving about the prints. They were small, but unnaturally splayed and with viciously long claws, from what he could make out.

Up front, Crystal one-handedly fished an energy drink out of her backpack and cracked it open. She was blinking heavily, and her usual dark circles were even more prominent. Seeing nothing of interest outside the window, Gold slumped back and searched the cracks between the seats for anything to entertain him. There was nothing to be found, so instead he leaned his upper body into the front half of the car, wriggled his stomach onto the center console and opened the glove compartment.

"What are you- Gold, are you not wearing a seatbelt?" Crys said, trying to glare at him but not daring to take her eyes off the road.

"I'm a werewolf now, I don't need a seatbelt." He muttered, scrabbling around until he'd found a pack of gum. Crys shoved him towards the backseat, and he slumped once more, now content with a piece of Cherrygrove Chew.

"You're only a werewolf during the full moon, and you know that. Or maybe it's every moon? I hope not, you're a real handful to take care of," Crystal mused. "Though I guess that's always the case." She glanced back through the rearview mirror at Gold, who was blowing a large bubble as he rolled the window up and down.

"Hey, no one's _asking_ you to take care of me." He retorted.

"Actually, someone is. Her name is Aurea Juniper, and if I don't listen I'll lose my job _and_ my hide, so put on your seatbelt." Gold groaned at the name of their boss, sinking into his hoodie and reluctantly pulling the seatbelt across his chest.

" _Ugh_. I don't even want to think about her right now," He said. "I mean, you'd think she'd send us some help, right? We've been searching for three hours now and still haven't found him, and I'm concerned by the speed you've been pounding caffeine. How much sleep did you say you got last night?"

"Not nearly enough," Crystal sighed. "But I can't rest until we find Silver, or whatever got him, so keep your eyes peeled. He's much harder to track than you were." Giving her a tiny salute in the mirror, Gold looked out his window once again, popping the gum between his back teeth. Suddenly his eyes narrowed and he smacked his hand against the window.

"WAIT! STOP! Pull over a sec!"

"WHAT?! WHAT IS IT!?" Crystal gasped, slamming on the breaks and sending them both jolting towards the windshield. Suddenly Gold was very grateful that she'd made him put his seatbelt on.

"I thought I saw something, pull over!" He said, staring intently out the window. Crys swung the car to the side of the road and he hopped out without waiting for her to come to a complete stop.

"Hey, c'mon be careful!" She chastised him, unbuckling her seatbelt and locking the doors before walking around the car to stand next to Gold. "Now, what did you see?" He pointed, wordlessly, going white as a sheet. Crystal grabbed for a pair of glasses that had been hanging from the neck of her shirt, and put them on. Her hand went to her mouth at the sight of the dead sheep just beyond the broken fence by the side of the road. Its neck had been torn open, and judging by the pale, shriveled skin clinging tightly to its skinny frame, it had been completely drained of blood. The wool on its midriff looked limp and lackluster. The grass around its neck was stained red, and a few, hopeful flies were buzzing around the neck.

"I don't like the look of that." Crystal whispered, instinctively twisting her bracelet. Gold reached under his hoodie to his belt, and unclipped a metal rod attached to it. He gave it a shake and it extended into a full length pool cue that he held in front of himself like a spear. Crystal gave him a quizzical look. Gold shrugged. They made their way past the splintered fence and into the field. The field was uneven, and full of hillocks. The grass was ankle-length and stiff, and the stench of death lay over everything. They passed more sheep, all as dead as the first and with the same, drained pallor. Crys glanced nervously back and forth, straining her ears for any sounds, while Gold kept looking over his shoulder, palms sweaty and slipping on the pool cue. Crys tapped his shoulder and he jumped slightly, then looked to where she was pointing. There was a single tree in the middle of the field, situated on a rise that was taller than the other bumps and small hills.

"We should check if we can see anything from up there," She whispered. "It'll give us a better view if anything's trying to attack us, too." Carefully, they picked their way up to the rise, and took a look at the field.

"Geez, it's a mess," Gold wrinkled his nose at the gruesome sight. "I wonder who these sheep belonged to? Poor guy." Crys nervously picked at the bark of the tree, pulling tiny scraps off and letting them fall to the ground.

"Right now I just want to find whatever _did_ this to them. And hope it doesn't do the same to us."

"There's gotta be some sort of workplace compensation for this, right? Are they legally allowed to send us into life-threatening danger?"

"I'll admit, this job just gets more and more sketchy." Crys frowned. Suddenly, they both froze at a retching sound from behind them, on the opposite side of the tree. Gulping, they shot each other a glance, fingers tightening around their weapons. " _On the count of three…"_ Crys mouthed, and Gold nodded. She held three fingers up and slowly ticked down one… two… three. They leapt around both sides of the tree, Gold lowering his pool cue and charging, and Crystal twisting her bracelet.

* * *

Silver awoke to an upset stomach. That, sticky fingers, sore arms and legs, and an itch on his back. Rolling over, he quickly realized the the itch was from the stiff, thick-bladed grass he was lying on. Cracking his eyes open slightly, he was met with slanted shafts of bright sunlight. He hastily shut them again, eyes smarting. Why was he outside? Had he been kidnapped? He explored his limbs and chest with his hands, and determined that he seemed to be unharmed, aside from the queasy churning in his belly and a tender, but healed cut on the bottom of his right foot. It seemed that the sticky feeling wasn't limited to just his fingers. It clung to him all over, damp and uncomfortable. Slowly, he tried opening his eyes again, this time raising a hand to block the sun. Giving himself a minute to adjust, he took his time sitting upright, and glanced down at himself.

He was covered from neck down in blood. He suspected his face hadn't fared much better. The only clothing that remained on his body were his jeans, but they were so tattered and torn he hardly thought they counted. Filled with a growing sense of confusion and concern, he took a good look around him. He was beneath a large tree, in the middle of a field. From the looks of it, he was in the farmland on the outskirts of Goldenrod - the outline of the city crowded the horizon to his right. He wracked his brain, trying to dredge up any recollection of what could have happened between when he went to bed, and when he woke, but for the life of him, he couldn't think of a satisfactory explanation for how he'd gotten there.

Giving himself another moment, he slowly stood, taking care not to put too much weight on his tender foot. It was after he got up that he noticed the low hum in the air. He quickly figured out what was causing it when a large, black fly flew at his face and tried to land on the tip of his blood-smattered nose. Roughly brushing it away he caught scent of a rank smell, and a few more steps took him to the crest of a small rise that gave him a clear view of the rest of the field.

It was littered with sheep carcasses. They were bloodied, and sucked dry, as if some beast had been among their midst and ravaged the whole flock. The grass was stained red and a blanket of flies lay buzzing across the lot of them. Appalled, Silver stumbled backwards and his queasy stomach got the best of him. He leaned over and retched.

* * *

Gold and Crystal whipped around the tree, weapons lowered at whoever was there. It was Silver, sitting on the ground, coated in blood, and looking absolutely bewildered.

"Silver!?" Gold shouted, pulling his cue up. Crystal blinked in surprise.

"Oh thank goodness, I got worried when you didn't wake up for Proteam Omega, and then when we checked your room it was all trashed and the window was broken and you weren't there- damn, what happened to your pants?" Gold rambled.

"I wish I knew," Silver said, frowning darkly. "And I didn't think you cared." Gold snorted.

"Under normal circumstances, no. But it's hard not to care when your roommate gets dragged out of your house by something and you find him in a field of dead sheep looking like he took a blood bath. The color _does_ go nicely with your hair, but I have a feeling that wasn't on purpose."

"What exactly happened?" Crystal asked, still looking around and not willing to let her guard down. "Did some monster get you and drag you here?"

"Monster? What are you talking about?" Silver asked sharply.

"Uuhhhh, long story," Gold quickly intervened. "Just tell us what happened."

"I don't know," Silver grumbled. "I can't remember anything past waking up here. What's that sound?" There was a beat of silence. Then they all heard it, a faint, muffled beeping coming from the depths of Crystal's backpack. Crys and Gold shared a glance, before she hurriedly whipped the bag off, and extracted the Monsterdex. The sound grew louder, and she pointed it at Silver.

"What the hell is that thing-" Silver growled, but was interrupted as the Dex let out a final beep, before snapping open. Words appeared on the screen, and Crystal's brow furrowed as she read it, before sighing and looking back at Silver.

"What is it? What does it say? Uh, what is _he_ , I guess?" Gold said, craning his neck to get a look. Crys handed it over, looking at Silver with a mix of pity and exasperation.

"What does it say?" Silver asked, nervously, even more confused than he was when he'd woken up.

" **CHUPACABRA** :" Gold read aloud. " **A monster that appears every night after the sun goes down. It is ravenously hungry at all times, and uses its straw-like teeth to suck the blood of every animal it sees. It is not known for attacking humans, but proceed with caution.** " Silver blinked.

"And? What does that mean?" He said, nonplussed.

"Oh dude," Gold sighed. "It means you totally turned into some freaky dog monster last night and ate an entire herd of sheep."

"But," Under the layer of dried blood, Silver's skin had drained of color. "But I can't, I'm… I'm a _vegetarian_."

* * *

Once again, Crystal had taken up residence in the chair of Gold and Silver's living room. She tapped Silver's name into the Dex, completing his profile. Her fingers made the only noise in the tiny apartment, as the other two were sitting in deafening silence. Silver had taken the couch, fresh out of the shower and in a new Proteam Omega shirt and black jeans. Gold had taken the floor, and was facing Silver, trying to weigh his reaction to everything he had just been told. Silver blinked, and suddenly his face darkened into a scowl. Reaching up, he yanked a brush through his hair.

"So… that's it, then? You two are members of this so called "Department of Monster Protection" in the Radio Tower, which is secretly full of people that can use magic?"

"Well _she's_ a member, _I'm_ just a member in training." Gold butted in. Silver shot him a death glare.

"And," He continued, stiffly. "Somehow your big cloaking device got busted thanks to Gold, so now there are monsters roaming around the city? And you're saying I'm one of them?"

"That's the basic gist, yep," Gold nodded, sagely. "But don't worry! There are only like, twenty or so monsters, according to Colress. And we already know where two of them are! Bingo!"

"Who's the other one?" Silver drawled, eyes raking over both of them. Gold helpfully raised his hand.

"Apparently I'm a werewolf," He said. "Which is way cooler than a Chupacabra."

"In your dreams," Silver said in his signature monotone, before sighing deeply and sinking into the couch. "But everything you just told me sounds like a big fat lie, and just on the concept that Gold is involved with something magical and didn't let the secret slip, I'd say I don't believe it. Except for the fact that I just woke up half naked and covered in blood in a field of sheep carcasses so I'm not really sure what the truth is, anymore."

"That's fair." Gold nodded. Crystal snapped the Monsterdex shut and shoved it unceremoniously back in the bag, letting out a huff. She rubbed at her eyes. They stung, and she was having a hard time keeping them open.

"If it helps, I can at least try to prove the magic bit," She sighed. Then gave her bracelet a twist and flicked her hand. One of the couch pillows floated upwards, then shot across the room and skidded into the kitchen. Silver's mouth fell open, but before he could say anything, Gold leapt to his feet, eyes widening, and raced after it. He came rushing back, and dropped the pillow at Crystal's feet, before shaking his head in confusion.

"What the hell-"

"Oh my god," Silver snickered. "You chase things? Like a dog?"

"Apparently," Crystal said, with a wicked grin. "What a useful piece of information."

"Assholes." Gold spat, horrified. Silver threw another pillow, and with a yelp, Gold ran off again. He heaved a sigh and glanced at the ceiling.

"So, what are you thinking now?" Crystal asked, as Gold dropped the second pillow at her feet.

"I'm not sure. I mean, everything you said is just completely illogical." He pointed out.

"Oh, I know, it makes no scientific sense whatsoever." Crystal nodded in agreement.

"And I don't really _want_ to believe you, because that would mean accepting I'm a-"

"A ugly, bloodthirsty dog who eats sheep?" Gold supplied. Silver and Crystal both shot him a glare.

"... something like that," Silver muttered. "Anyways I'm going to watch the episode I missed this morning. I'll think on all this and get back to you. Crys… you should uh. Get some sleep." Crystal whipped her head up from where it had been drooping onto her chest.

"Uh?"

"You can use my room, since it's not all torn up," Gold supplied. "I think I'll spend the afternoon here. Bothering Silver." Silver snorted in annoyance. Crys nodded gratefully and slumped into Gold's room, collapsing on his bed and immediately drifting off.

* * *

A buzzing next to her head woke Crystal with a start. Wiping the drool off her cheek, she squinted at the bright light, trying to make out the caller ID. Only slivers of sunset peeked through the blinds, so when she finally saw her brother's name she shot up and answered the phone with a start.

"Emerald!" she shouted, her voice wavering from exhaustion. He seemed startled by the force in her greeting.

"W- whoa, Crys are you alright?"

"I'm fine, how are you?"

"I'm… I'm fine. It's just, some weird things have been happening lately and I wanted to make sure you were ok."

Crystal's breath hitched; there was a sudden scream of absolute anguish in the background on Emerald's end.

"What kind of weird things?" The other line stayed silent for a long moment. The background cries were way too harsh to be human, and Crystal's heart rate seemed to double every second he didn't answer.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Emerald finally said. Before he had even finished, Crystal was on her feet and storming into the living room, waking up Gold and Silver from where they lay in a tangle on the too-small-for-two-people-but-too-big-to-be-a-chair sort of couch.

"Monster problems?" Gold slurred, pushing himself out of the blankets and into his sneakers.

"I think so," she whispered, covering the phone's microphone with her hand. "It's at Emerald's apartment. I'm worried for his roommates. It sounds bad."

Gold paled. If there was anyone on this Earth who loved Emerald almost as much as Crystal did, it was Gold. Emerald was like a little brother to him, so Gold was out the door even before Crystal.

"Can I came with you?" Silver asked.

"Hurry up," they answered in unison. As he trotted after them, they both ran out the door. The trio had a little brother to save.


End file.
